to let be in the care of; entrust: with to or up to: to leave a decision to another

to give as a remainder by subtraction: ten minus two leaves eight

to reject: take it or leave it

to go away from: to leave the house

to let stay or cause to be in a certain condition: the flood left them homeless

to give up; abandon; forsake

to stop living in, working for, or belonging to

Chiefly Dial. to let or allow: leave us go now

Origin of leave

Middle English leven ; from Old English læfan, literally , to let remain (; from an unverified form lafjan ; from base of laf, remnant, what remains), akin to (be)lifan, to remain, German bleiben, Old High German belīban ; from Indo-European an unverified form leip-, to smear with grease, stick to ; from base an unverified form lei-, viscous, sticky from source Classical Latin limus: see lime

permission to be absent from duty or work, esp. such permission given to personnel in the armed services

the period for which such permission is granted

Origin of leave

Middle English leve ; from Old English leaf, permission, akin to obsolete German laube, permission, erlauben, to allow, permit ; from Indo-European base an unverified form leubh-, to like, desire from source lief, love, Classical Latin libido

To have as a result, consequence, or remainder: The car left a trail of exhaust fumes. Two from eight leaves six.

To cause or allow to be or remain in a specified state: left the lights on.

a. To have remaining after death: left a young son.

b. To bequeath: left her money to charity.

To give over to another to control or act on: Leave all the details to us.

a. To abandon or forsake: leave home; left her husband.

b. To remove oneself from association with or participation in: left the navy for civilian life.

a. To give or deposit, as for use or information, upon one's departure or in one's absence: He left a note for you. Leave your name and address.

b. To cause or permit to be or remain: left myself plenty of time.

Nonstandard To allow or permit; let.

verb

, intransitive

To set out or depart; go: When can you leave?

Phrasal Verb: leave off To stop; cease. To stop doing or using.

Origin of leave

Middle English leaven, from Old English l&aemac;fan; see leip- in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

leav′er

noun

Usage Note: In formal writing leave is not an acceptable substitute for let in the sense “to allow or permit.” Thus in the following examples, only let should be used: Let me be. Let him go. Let us not quarrel. This use of leave is normally edited out of written prose but remains common in speech. &bullet; Leave alone is an acceptable substitute for let alone in the sense “to refrain from disturbing or interfering with.” As far back as 1968, a majority of the Usage Panel approved the following example: Leave him alone, and he will produce. Some people feel that leave alone should mean simply “to depart from someone who remains in solitude,” as in They were left alone in the wilderness. There is no harm in observing this restriction, but expecting it of others is unrealistic.

(cricket) The action of the batsman not attempting to play at the ball.

(billiards) The arrangement of balls in play that remains after a shot is made (which determines whether the next shooter "” who may be either the same player, or an opponent "” has good options, or only poor ones).